Partnership for 21st Century Learning: Learning and Innovation Skills
Framework for 21st Century Learning
The Framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century. The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic and descriptions below. The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom).
p21_rainbow_id254.jpg
p21_rainbow_id254.jpg
LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS
Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as those that separate students who are prepared for a more and more complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Think Creatively • Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming) • Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts) • Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts
Work Creatively with Others • Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively • Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work • Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas • View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes
Implement Innovations • Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur
CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Reason Effectively • Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation
Use Systems Thinking • Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems
Make Judgments and Decisions • Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs • Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view • Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments • Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis • Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes
Solve Problems • Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways • Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION
Communicate Clearly • Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts • Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions • Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade) • Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact • Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)
Collaborate with Others • Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams • Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal • Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member
Framework for 21st Century Learning
The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic and descriptions below. The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom).
LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS
Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as those that separate students who are prepared for a more and more complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Think Creatively
• Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming)
• Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)
• Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts
Work Creatively with Others
• Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively
• Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group
input and feedback into the work
• Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real
world limits to adopting new ideas
• View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and
innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent
mistakes
Implement Innovations
• Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur
CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Reason Effectively
• Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to
the situation
Use Systems Thinking
• Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall
outcomes in complex systems
Make Judgments and Decisions
• Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
• Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
• Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments
• Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
• Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes
Solve Problems
• Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and
innovative ways
• Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION
Communicate Clearly
• Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal
communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts
• Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions
• Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade)
• Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their
effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact
• Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)
Collaborate with Others
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
• Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary
compromises to accomplish a common goal
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member
http://www.p21.org/index.php